I'm delighted
to have finally caught up with THE COMET'S TAIL, Chuck Owen & The
Jazz Surge's tribute to the late, great Michael Brecker. The CD is the
first release from the University of South Florida's Center for Jazz Compositions.
On it such longtime Brecker collaborators as Joe Livano, Dave Liebman,
Danny Gottleib and of course his brother Randy join forces with seventeen
young Jazz Surge musicians. Together they deliver some of the finest big-band
music I've heard in recent years.

Owen, who
won a 2009 Guggenheim for his work at South Florida, first conceived of
COMET'S TALE as a light-hearted celebration of Brecker's compositional
achievements. He and other arrangers put their own stamp on several of
Brecker's best-known tunes, but just as they began to give concerts in
Florida, Brecker died unexpectedly from complications of leukemia. That
led to a rethinking of the CD's musical approach; new tunes were added,
several arrangements were deepened and made more reflective and meaningful.
Did joy give way to gloom? On the contrary. THE COMET'S TALE still has
drive and fire, but it possesses other dimensions as well, an underlying
poignancy, touches of melancholy and loss.

My favorite
track was the pumped-up, rollicking version of Itsbynne Reel, which featured
Rob Thomas on violin and Jack Wilkins on tenor, but I also found the Livano-led
ballads, Take A Walk and Everything Happens When You're Gone, to be equally
as satisfying and compelling. The album pays tribute to Brecker with heartfelt
respect and beauty. (Sales@summitrecords.com)